‘Deeply sorry to everyone involved’: Suspended Swans speak out for first time

Five Sydney players were handed season-ending bans by the Swans on Wednesday for breaching the club’s behavioural standards and barred from All-Australian honours as doubts emerged over their playing futures.

Hours after club officials described the Swans as “deeply ashamed” by the actions of Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice, the players themselves apologised for their roles in the scandal that has engulfed the club and derailed their premiership campaign on the eve of the finals.

The five Swans were banned by their club for their actions in the early hours of Monday morning after their win the night before over Essendon, including drinking, staying out late and bringing women back to the team hotel.

Separate to the club sanctions, Victoria Police is investigating an allegation of sexual assault of a woman at the Pullman East Melbourne on Monday morning.

“We are deeply sorry to everyone involved. We know that our behaviour has fallen well short of the standards expected of us and the values of our club,” a statement issued on behalf of the suspended five read.

“We know we have let down our partners and families, members, supporters, teammates, the AFLW team, corporate partners and everyone at the club and the wider community.

“We accept the club sanction and apologise for the impact this has had on those involved.

“Our focus will now be on rebuilding trust with the club and the community.”

Both the Swans and the AFL stressed the penalties were reached independently of the Victoria Police investigation.

On Wednesday, after stony-faced Swans players had hit the track to prepare for Sunday’s clash against North Melbourne at the SCG, club chairman Andrew Pridham pledged to regain the trust of their fans and the community amid the Swans’ darkest hour since they were on the breadline in the early 1990s.

Pridham, whose board met on Tuesday night to decide on the sanctions, said the Swans’ preparedness to “torpedo” their premiership bid reflected how serious they were viewing the matter.

Appearing alongside club chief Matthew Pavlich at a 19-minute press conference, Pridham could not guarantee the quintet would play again for the Swans and defended coach Dean Cox, saying he had not done anything wrong heading out late with club staff on Sunday night.

“At the outset, I want to offer an apology, sincere apology, to the community, to our many, many fans, to our corporate partners who’ve been amazingly supportive of us, understanding that we are attempting to deal with this matter as quickly as we can, as honestly as we can, given the constraints of the police inquiry, and to very much be transparent in our dealings with the media,” Pridham said.

“Our thoughts go out to everybody who’s been impacted by these events, and we know it’s impacted many, many people, ranging from the partners of our staff, our players, our women’s program, our men’s program.

“There’s deep disappointment within the club at what has occurred, and we know that many people are hurting, and we are providing support to our players, to their partners, to as many people we can, to our fans and members.”

The men’s game on Sunday is the second leg of a double header, when the Swans’ AFLW team will also take to the field.

The five banned Swans stars were further hit late on Wednesday when the league ruled them ineligible for selection in the All-Australian team, but they will remain eligible to contend for the Brownlow Medal. The Swans did not respond by deadline when asked about eligibility for the club’s best and fairest.

Of the five suspended players, Heeney, Warner and Blakey were strong contenders to be picked in this season’s All-Australian team.

“Following the decision and appropriate club sanction imposed by the Sydney Swans today in relation to five of their players, the AFL has determined those players will not be considered for the selection in the 2026 All-Australian squad,” the AFL said in a statement.

The squad will be named on Monday and the team will be announced on August 25 at an event in Melbourne.

While some of the five players were surprised by the season-long bans, none has pushed back against the tough sanctions, according to a source familiar with the players’ position, speaking anonymously.

By banning three of their best players for the rest of the season, the Swans have significantly dented their chances of winning their first flag in 14 years, but Pridham said the on-field implications were not a consideration for the board. Pavlich, Cox and football boss Leon Cameron also had input into the ban.

The Swans were in ongoing negotiations with the AFL over the suspensions, according to a source with knowledge of the situation who was not authorised to speak publicly. They were aligned that the matter was serious. The AFL Players Association has been kept informed.

“I think the fact that we’ve got to the place where we are today, and we’ve effectively suspended the players for the balance of season when we’re heading into a final series just tells you how seriously we’ve taken it,” Pridham said.

“Clearly, something has gone wrong.

“They shouldn’t have been in that situation of being out that late. And the only way we can deal with it is to put our foot down incredibly hard, which we’ve done.

“I think a very important point to make is that we, as a football club, that is our business, and to effectively torpedo our season by making a decision such as this just tells you how seriously we are taking it.”

Asked if the five would play again for the club, Pridham said: “We just have to wait and see what happens going forward.”

This masthead has contacted the representatives of Heeney, Bice, Jordon and Warner. All have denied wrongdoing, according to a source familiar with the players’ position.

This masthead also contacted a representative of Blakey, who stated Blakey was not involved in any incident. They confirmed Blakey had remained in Melbourne on Monday to travel back to Sydney by car later with his four teammates.

The players learnt of their penalties from Pavlich on Wednesday morning.

“They’re incredibly disappointed in their actions,” Pavlich said. “They know they’ve let a lot of people down. They know they’ve impacted the women involved. They are remorseful about the hours of Monday morning, and we’ll get them back to the club and around their teammates and the staff at the right time.”

Pavlich would not confirm if the players were tested for illicit drugs, saying that was a matter for police.

He said the Swans had offered their support to the women but would not reach out to them out of respect for the police investigation.

“We’re deeply concerned about their welfare and the wellbeing of those women,” Pavlich said.

“They’re the ones who are impacted severely at the moment, and we are here to acknowledge those allegations.”

Swans hall of fame member Jude Bolton voiced his support for the woman and for the player bans on Wednesday.

“The courage shown by the alleged victim in coming forward & her wellbeing are the only thing that matters,” Bolton wrote on X.

“That rightly will play out through due process. Sanctions imposed on the Swans for the lack of standards, bringing the game and their club into disrepute should be welcomed.”

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